Repurposed Dumore 14-011 Tool Post Grinder

I finally found a use for my little Dumore tool post grinder. I have had this unit for a long time, and finally got around to tearing the motor down to lubricate the bearings which were stuck due to dried grease, and to replace the cord. Replacing the cord is a long story for another time! Suffice it to say, it was a challenge.

I have never used the unit as a tool post grinder, nor do I intend to now. I just hate the idea of getting grit into all of the ways and bearings on either of my lathes! But I have found that it works very well as a TIG tungsten electrode grinder using cheap 1.5 or 2.0 dia diamond wheels available all over eBay for around a dollar or less a piece. I have also used it for grinding chip breakers onto lathe tools by judicious choice of 1/8 shank grinding wheels (Dremel, etc.) It works extremely well, no vibration, quiet, and has plenty of power in THIS application. Don't know how it would work as an actual tool post grinder, but I suspect it would be pretty weak. I don't intend to find out.



It works very well the way I have been using it, and I don't even have to take it out of its case - the grinding wheel extends to the outside, as seen in the picture. If some of you are worried about grinding thoriated tungsten, you can easily station a vacuum to suck up the debris before you can suck in any of it yourself.

Regards,

Mike

Cool. The Dumore units were designed to run with very little vibration. And I think I'd swath the lathe ways and saddle in wet towels, and would figure out a way to catch most of the grit before I generated it.

The 14-011 and 44-011 units are 1/4 HP unit. The 14 is designed for small lathes, with less then 7" swing. For a 10 inch lathe, you'd want a 44 (8 to 14 inch lathes). That 14 inch spec is probably stretching it. The 57 series starts at 3/4 HP, and is nominally for 8 to 20 inch swing lathes.

bosleyjr said:

Cool. The Dumore units were designed to run with very little vibration. And I think I'd swath the lathe ways and saddle in wet towels, and would figure out a way to catch most of the grit before I generated it.

The 14-011 and 44-011 units are 1/4 HP unit. The 14 is designed for small lathes, with less then 7" swing. For a 10 inch lathe, you'd want a 44 (8 to 14 inch lathes). That 14 inch spec is probably stretching it. The 57 series starts at 3/4 HP, and is nominally for 8 to 20 inch swing lathes.

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The 14-011 I have is marked 1/14 HP on the name plate, (1.1 amp @ 115 volt = ~0.17 HP times some efficiency factor, in this case about .42 = 1/14 HP, sounds reasonable) so it is really pretty weak... hence the recommendation for only small lathes. That and the center height, of course. The manual I downloaded from Dumore recommends use on 6" to 8" swing lathes, although I know some people use this exact same model on lathes like the South Bend 9 inch or 10K models, with suitable risers on the tool post.

b2major9th said:

If some of you are worried about grinding thoriated tungsten, you can easily station a vacuum to suck up the debris before you can suck in any of it yourself.

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And the dust goes through the 30 micron filter back out the vacuum discharge and is efficiently spread around the entire area

elfrench said:

And the dust goes through the 30 micron filter back out the vacuum discharge and is efficiently spread around the entire area

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The hazard of thoriated tungsten electrodes is overrated. If you don't like those, use either ceriated or lanthanated. I've had good results with all three.